Forum: Efforts made to support well-being of students with special needs in mainstream schools
More can be done for well-being of students with special needs ' (July 17) and for sharing his perspective as a parent of a child with autism.
In a recent reply to a Forum letter, '
Building a supportive, safe learning environment for all ' (July 19), we shared that our schools continue to make the efforts to implement a whole-of-school approach to create a nurturing environment that supports all learners. Preventive, educative and restorative measures are adopted to address bullying incidents.
We agree that supporting students with diverse learning needs is a shared responsibility in schools. Building expertise takes time – much like society's journey towards inclusion. Through daily interactions with students and collaborative work with school personnel such as school counsellors and special educational needs (SEN) officers, our teachers continue to hone their skills and develop the confidence to foster positive classroom and school cultures.
The adolescent years present unique challenges for all students, including students with SEN. During this period, the partnership between schools and parents is vital in providing effective support for our students.
Parent-teacher meetings and case conferences help develop strategies that can be implemented both at home and in school. This collaborative approach between parents and school personnel helps students develop essential social skills and self-advocacy strategies, creating a supportive environment that bridges school and home.
The Ministry of Education will continue to build up our efforts to support students with SEN, by working closely with schools, parents and the community so that our education system evolves and remains responsive to diverse learners' needs.
Dayna Chia
Divisional Director, Special Educational Needs Division
Ministry of Education
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Arguably, not shaming the country where the threat group operates from could risk emboldening future attacks and invite scrutiny from security partners who expect transparency. More importantly, it may make public education about the seriousness of cyber threats more challenging. The public may not understand the full context, for example, of the motivation or geopolitical implications of an attack. WHY NAMING WITHOUT SHAMING While Singapore avoids attributing cyber threats to specific states, naming and shaming is the preferred approach for many Western countries and some of their Asian allies, particularly those that view China as a preeminent threat. For countries not directly involved in adversarial relations or those that pursue a foreign policy of non-alignment, it may be more prudent to deter cyber threats without exacerbating geopolitical animosity. The cost of escalation may be too high a risk to bear. 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